7 creative lives of the artist Ivan Bilibin, who painted truly terrible tales

Most ordinary people, living their lives, learn one profession and believe that this is quite enough. Creative individuals often work in several related fields. But only a few can boast that they created something significant in completely different fields of activity. Ivan Bilibin, who could be called a “truly scary artist”, seems to have managed to live not only one creative life, but seven as many as 66 years.

1. Promising lawyer

The silver medal of the First St. Petersburg Classical Gymnasium and a law degree obtained in 1900 after graduating from the law faculty of St. Petersburg University, it seems, should have predetermined the fate of young Ivan Bilibin, according to the ardent desire of his father, on the solid ground of judicial or public service. However, he himself decided otherwise. Along with studying at the university, a young man begins to receive an art education, even for some time studies under the guidance of Ilya Efimovich Repin, he becomes an active member of the art world, and he forgets about his legal career. Continue reading →